Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31 § 36
A person who has been employed in the official service as a permanent employee for at least one year may be transferred to a position in the labor service under the direction of the same appointing authority upon approval of the administrator. Such approval shall be granted only upon written request of the appointing authority. Such request shall be accompanied by statements from the appointing authority substantiating that such person is qualified to perform the duties of the position in the labor service and that the appointing authority has posted, in the departmental unit in which such position exists, the promotional bulletin provided for in section twenty-nine and has determined that such person is the most qualified of those employees who are willing to accept such position.
The provisions of this section may apply to a transfer to a position the duties of which are partially those of a position in the labor service and partially those of a position in the official service, and may apply notwithstanding that the person for whose transfer the request for approval is made is not eligible for certification from any register for appointment to such position in such departmental unit.
A secretary having charge of an executive office established by chapters six A or seven may, without such request for approval, authorize the transfer of such an employee from the official service within a department, as defined by section one of chapter twenty-nine, within such executive office, to a position in the labor service in such department; provided that notice of such transfer, together with the statements of the appointing authority described in the first paragraph of this section, shall be filed with the administrator prior to the effective date of such transfer; and provided, further, that such transfer shall be subject to the provisions of the civil service law and rules. If at any time the administrator shall determine that any such transfer so authorized by any such secretary shall have been made in violation of any such provisions, the administrator shall terminate such transfer.
Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 31, § 36